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When Our Good and Holy Plans Fall Through…

November 13, 2013 By Haley 14 Comments

Welcome to Carrots! I'm so glad you're here. This is where I share thoughts on liturgical living, faith, parenting, culture, and an extra dose of Jane Austen. You can sign up for my email newsletter here to stay in touch, or look me up on Instagram!

Welcome to Carrots! I'm so glad you're back. You can sign up for my email newsletter here to stay in touch, or look me up on Instagram!

(I’m honored to share this beautiful guest post from my dear friend, Mandi Richards. -Haley)

I thought I woke up every morning willing to do God’s will.  I made choices that others questioned (like marrying young and starting our family early – both without much money in the bank, giving up grad school for life as a stay-at-home mom) but I did so willingly and with great joy because I believed they were God’s will for my life.

But not really.  You see, they were also my will for my life.  My plans.  My desires.  They just so happened to line up with God’s will for me.  I completely ignored (or perhaps, more aptly, was blind to) the fact that these things were easy for me to do because I wanted them as well.  Sure, they didn’t line up with society’s expectations so I did get some flak for them, but they lined up with my expectations.  I always wanted to be a wife and mother, a stay-at-home mom in specific, so even though these choices were questioned by some, they were the fulfillment of my childhood dreams.  They made me happy.

But what happens when God’s will doesn’t match my own?  What happens when the path God lays before me brings sorrow and suffering instead of happiness?  Am I still willing to follow Him then?

There is a distinct difference between following God when it leads somewhere I want to go, and following God when it leads somewhere I don’t.

I’m not saying that my plans and desires for my life are sinful.  They may be very good and holy plans.  But even so, they may not be what God asks me to do.  Sometimes it’s hard to understand why He doesn’t want something for me, or why He allows suffering to happen.  Just as a child doesn’t understand why a parent will not allow her to do something or requires her to do something she wishes not to do.  Reflecting on my childhood, I now see the reasons behind my parents’ decisions, decisions that often seemed cruel at the time but which were in fact born out of love.  So too is it with God.  Sometimes I understand in hindsight, I get a glimpse of His glorious plan.  Just as often, I will have to wait until this life is over to understand why.  This life is like childhood; it is best that I listen and follow my Heavenly Father because my own abilities are limited.

When I miscarried, I suddenly was confronted with these truths: that no matter how good my desires are, even if they seem perfectly in line with the teachings of the faith, sometimes they just don’t come to fruition.  Men and women suffering infertility or single people longing for a spouse know this even better than I.  I don’t believe that God caused my miscarriage.  We are bound by the laws of nature, and miscarriage is common – an all too common natural occurrence.  God is not bound by nature (He set it in motion, but certainly can triumph over it; these triumphs we call miracles); He could have stopped my miscarriage.  But He didn’t.  It’s common to ask why after a miscarriage (or so say the resources I’ve read).  It’s also common to be angry with God.  I neither questioned nor felt anger.  But my whole understanding of my faith and my life and my will and His completely shifted.

And for that, I am thankful.  There, I said it: it’s the single most sorrowful event of my life and yet I am thankful.  Do I still wish with all my soul that it would have never happened?  Absolutely.  I would be 15 weeks tomorrow.  I think about it every day.  If I were still pregnant, I would rely on those emails that compare babies to fruit in order to know how far along I was, but now, I don’t need any reminders of how old my child would be, how long it has been since I lost him/her.  Not only do I remember, I can’t forget.  Come May, I’ll be wishing with all my heart and soul that I had my baby in my arms.  I know my child is in heaven, and for that, I am truly thankful and overjoyed.  And sad, too, but I’m starting to learn that a conflict of emotions is normal and sustainable.  While we rejoice in the life after death, death itself is still something to be mourned.  It’s not the way it was meant to be.  Death is the result of the fall of man and sin and not part of the design of God for our lives.  Even Christ wept at the news of death, though He understood, with the complete understanding that only He Who is God has, that what follows death is greater than life.

God asks us to be open to life, to be willing to accept the children who come into our lives.  I wrongly assumed that this was a stamp of approval on the large family we had planned.  That large family may be in our future still, but I no longer make assumptions.  Because for the first time, I’ve stopped thinking that I know what God has planned for me.  And I’ve stopped making plans for myself.  And for the first time, I feel much more receptive to God’s will; when I stop telling Him of my plans, I leave room to be able to hear His.

When people ask me how many children we plan to have, I say, “However many God blesses us with.”

And now, I actually mean it.

photo(2)

Mandi is wife to David, mother of Lucia (and a sweet one in heaven), and a blogger.  She loves her Catholic faith, a cheap bottle of red wine, a good book, and jalapeños on her popcorn.  She has a newfound passion for talking about pregnancy loss so that no women feel alone after losing a baby.

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Filed Under: Baby, Catholicism, Children, Family & Homesteading Tagged With: dreams, faith, hopes, loss, miscarriage, plans

Comments

  1. Maggie @ From the Heart says

    November 13, 2013 at 1:33 pm

    I have often laid awake at night wondering what God’s will is for me and my family. I really need Him to send me an email. This was beautifully written, Mandi… and I continue to pray for you and your family!

    Reply
  2. luisa says

    November 13, 2013 at 2:02 pm

    Dear Mandi,
    God bless you and your sorrow. What a great grace to be thankful for your suffering, moreso that it inspires perfect abandonment! Glory be to God.
    Love,
    Luisa

    Reply
  3. Mary says

    November 13, 2013 at 2:20 pm

    Beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing, Mandi.

    Reply
  4. Amanda says

    November 13, 2013 at 2:35 pm

    Very beautiful, Mandi. Thank you for sharing this journey with us. I’ll continue to keep you and your beautiful family in my prayers! *hugs*

    Reply
  5. Lindsay (Young Married Mom) says

    November 13, 2013 at 2:41 pm

    Beautifully written. I had a lot of the same reactions after my own miscarriage almost two years ago. Thank you for sharing; it is brave and so necessary! You’ll be in my prayers. If you need an ear, please reach out to me: lindsay (dot) schlegel (at) gmail (dot) com.

    Reply
  6. Michelle @ Endless Strength says

    November 13, 2013 at 2:58 pm

    I was blessed with five full-term, healthy pregnancies and babies before I lost my dear sweet baby boy. I, too, have a new understanding of what it means to be open to God’s will. God bless you and many prayers for your family during this time.

    Reply
  7. Lindsay S. says

    November 13, 2013 at 4:47 pm

    Such truth in this. Thanks for the reminder to hold our own plans loosely. Obedience and acceptance of God’s plans are much harder when it’s not what we would choose for ourselves.

    Reply
  8. priest's wife (@byzcathwife) says

    November 13, 2013 at 6:47 pm

    beautiful!

    Reply
  9. Sophie Golden says

    November 14, 2013 at 6:14 am

    So sorry about the little angel you’ve lost.
    Thanks fir writing and sharing your emitions and experience. This post absolutely speaks to people of every religion.

    Reply
  10. Sarah O @ Two Os Plus More says

    November 14, 2013 at 8:20 am

    So beautifully written, Mandi! My heart breaks for women who have experienced this loss, but having not had it myself, I still can only imagine. I love where you wrote in the end about being open to life not necessarily meaning God will bless you with a large family. What a great reminder of the many ways God calls us to walk in *His* will for our lives! Thanks for this.

    Reply
  11. Jennifer @ Little Silly Goose says

    November 16, 2013 at 12:01 am

    Mandi, I’m so sorry to hear of your miscarriage. I have had a similar experience, though not through miscarriage, of being surprised when God’s plans did not match my own. I went through a tough period for a few months, but I similarly emerged more open to God’s plans for my life. Thank you for sharing your experience with us.

    Reply
  12. Jennifer says

    November 17, 2013 at 12:57 pm

    Mandi,
    I read this post through my bloglovin’ feed the day that it was published, but it has taken me this long to muster a comment. I also just read the post that you composed on your blog in which you initially shared your loss with your readers. Both posts are so achingly beautiful and so very true. Thank you for sharing your experience and these thoughts. Please know that you and your family are in my thoughts and prayers. Blessings to you all.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. 7 Quick Takes Friday ~ Vol 55 | The Veil of Chastity says:
    November 15, 2013 at 7:12 am

    […] — 6 —   Spotlight On #4:  Mandy from Messy Wife, Blessed Life writes about the revelation she made after her recent miscarriage in her guest post, When Our Good and Holy Plans Fall Through: […]

    Reply
  2. The Struggles & Vocation of Motherhood - Catholic Exchange says:
    December 12, 2013 at 9:04 pm

    […] I recently lost a child to miscarriage.  The singular most difficult experience of my life, it has brought me more understanding of God, and my relationship with him, than any other event.  I realized that I did not need to wait for another life-shattering sorrow to […]

    Reply

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Welcome! I’m Haley Stewart, a bookish mama of four and wife to a beekeeper. Writer, speaker, podcaster, and Catholic convert. Homeschooling, bacon-eating, and bright red lipstick-wearing Jane Austen aficionado. My first book, The Grace of Enough: Pursuing Less and Living More in a Throwaway Culture is available now!

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